


Nice

by SociallyAwkwardFox (Maze_Runner_Fae)



Series: 25 Days of Sterekmas [19]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Dogs, M/M, volunteering, writer!stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 08:10:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2805602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maze_Runner_Fae/pseuds/SociallyAwkwardFox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles has been volunteering at the animal shelter since he was fifteen years old and he absolutely loves it. There's only one thing he might love more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nice

Stiles first met Derek when he was eight years old and Derek was fifteen. His mom had just died and his dad was called in on an emergency with no sitter to call so Stiles was sitting in a chair way too big for him in a chaotic police station while his dad worked. The book he had brought with him kept him occupied for all of thirty minutes before the boredom began to set in. When Stiles finally couldn’t take fake reading any longer, he looked up to see two bright green eyes watching him.

“What?”

“What are you reading?”

Stiles held up the book he had clutched in his hands so the boy could see the cover. “The Hobbit.”

“Aren’t you a little young to be reading that?”

“No. I’ve read it four times already.”

“Why?”

“Because I like it.”

“Who’s your favorite character?”

“Kili.”

“That explains it. You’re a troublemaker.” The boy let out a heavy sigh and when Stiles followed his graze he was pretty sure he was looking at the woman talking to his father. “Why are you here?”

“My dad got called in.”

“Why didn’t you stay home with your mom?”

“I don’t have a mom anymore. She died but that’s okay because she’s not in pain anymore. Dad hasn’t gotten a sitter yet so I had to come with him but I don’t mind. I like the station.”

The sadness in the boy’s eyes ebbed some as he listened to Stiles babble. “What’s your name?”

“Well most people can’t say my name so I go by Stiles instead. What about you?”

“Derek.”

“It’s nice to meet you Derek.”

“You too.”

* * *

It wasn’t until later Stiles learned that Derek had been at the station that night because his uncle’s girlfriend had tried to burn down their house with everyone inside. Luckily everyone was able to make it out alive but Derek’s uncle was put into a medically induced coma because of the severe burns he had sustained. Stiles could clearly remember the look in Derek’s eyes and it was then Stiles decided he wanted to help people like his father did.

The only problem was most people didn’t like Stiles. Most people described Stiles as annoying, obnoxious, or irritating. Sometimes he would overhear people calling him a freak or a weirdo because he wasn’t able to sit down and pay attention. Even after he started taking medication to help reign in his wandering mind, people still avoided him because of his eccentric personality.

So it wasn’t surprising that Stiles stopped volunteering at the homeless shelter after three days. A majority of the people there thought Stiles was only volunteering because he was some kid that wanted something that would look good on his college applications. Whenever Stiles would try to help they would either be rude to him or flat out ignore anything he had to say. Even some of the other volunteers treated Stiles like he was an ignorant little kid that was incapable of doing anything.

Needless to say Stiles went back to the drawing board and after several days of searching was seriously starting to contemplate driving half an hour away to a homeless shelter in the closest city. That was when Stiles was saved the large gas bill he would undoubtly rack up by Scott’s boss. Scott had brought up Stiles’s current situation to Dr. Deaton and the man had mentioned that the local animal shelter was in desperate need of a free pair of hands. When Stiles went down to the shelter he was immediately pulled in by a dog with wide, sad eyes and the kind woman named Kira who owned the shelter. By the time he left the shelter that day, he was signed up to volunteer on Saturdays and Sundays. It was on a drizzly Saturday that Stiles met Derek for a second time.

“Stiles?” Stiles looked up from the little salt and pepper Miniature Schnauzer he had been brushing to see Kira looking at him with an apologetic smile. “I’m on the phone with a potential investor right now and there’s a family here wanting to adopt a dog. Could you take care of them for me please?”

“Of course. Just let me put Maximillian up then I’ll be right out.”

“You’re the best.”

“That does seem to be the general consensus.” Stiles placed Maximillian into his cage then made sure everything looked neat before heading out to the lobby. “Hello! My name is Stiles. How can I help you all today?”

The youngest in the group crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “Aren’t you a little young to be working?”

“Cora! I apologize for my daughter’s behaviour. We’re looking to get her a dog.”

“It’s fine. We have plenty of dogs that are available for adoption today and some that will be made available soon. Are there any particular requirements you have? Male or female? Age? Size?”

“No. We’ll take any you have into consideration.”

“Excellent. If you follow me we can get started.” Stiles grabbed his clipboard and motioned for the family to follow him through the side door. “Alright. Attached to each kennel is a little profile for the dog. It’s just basic information. The dog’s name, gender, age, whether they’ve been spaded or neutered or not, and a little description of their personality. Cora’s the one getting a dog?”

Cora’s mom nudged her daughter when all she did was scowl at Stiles. “Yes.”

“Are there any dogs you want to take out of their kennel?”

“What kind of a name is Helmholtz?”

“The one I gave him. So are there any you want to take out?”

“Are there any bigger ones? I mean Penelope is cute and all but I want something bigger.”

“We have some of our larger breeds back here. We have this really cute Australian Cattle Dog that has been here for ages but no one has wanted to adopt her because she’s not a puppy.”

“You named her Scout? Isn’t that a boy’s name.” Cora knelt down in front of the kennel Stiles had stopped in front of and stuck one of her hands through the bars so the dog could sniff at her fingers. “She’s cute.”

“Yes she is and a huge cuddler. She also likes to go out on runs if you’re looking for a running partner.”

Stiles bent down so he could undo the latch on the door which Scout immediately flew out of and launched herself at Cora. Scout’s tail was wagging violently as she licked Cora’s face and received gentle hands running through her fur in return. A smile made its way onto Stiles’s face as he watched the two girls building a connection Stiles was sure would last. He was distracted from his staring when someone moved to stand beside him. Someone that seemed vaguely familiar.

“So are you the one responsible for naming all the dogs?”

“Yes. Why?” Stiles turned to the dark haired… boy? Man? Person?

“I see your pattern.”

“Do you now?”

“I started to get a little suspicious when I saw a male dog named Sydney but it was confirmed when I saw the Collie named Éowyn.”

“Points to you then. What was your name again?”

“Derek.”

“Derek?” Stiles scrunched his eyebrows up in concentration but before he could say anything else he was cut off by Cora.

“I want Scout.”

“Right. Let me go get the paperwork and you can take her home today if you want to.”

“Derek won’t mind a little dog hair in his car would you?”

“Of course not. I didn’t just get it cleaned or anything.”

* * *

The next time Stiles saw Derek was seven years later at the exact same animal shelter. In that time, Stiles dated several men and women but no one particularly serious. He only brought one person home to meet his dad and that relationship had ended in an explosion a month later when Stiles found out the guy was cheating on him with his ex. After that Stiles decided he liked dogs a lot more than he liked people and falling in love with the strong heroines and brave heroes in his novels was clearly the way to go.

During his senior year of college Stiles sent his first completed novel to a publisher that leap at the chance to be the one to print it. Apparently people could really connect with his loveable ADHD riddled hero and his asthmatic best friend turned werewolf. It didn’t take long for his novel to become the next hit teen fantasy novel and fans were already demanding a movie. Of course the only people that knew Stiles was the writer of the Teen Wolf series were his friends, dad, and publisher. Everyone else thought the writer was some guy named Jeff Davis, a name Stiles had chosen because it was so generic.

Stiles’s favorite part about being a best-selling author wasn’t the large amount of money he got each month, but the fact Stiles could volunteer at the animal shelter whenever he wanted since he picked his own hours. So every weekday and every weekend Stiles would be at the animal shelter for at least half of the day. Sometimes Stiles would be hit by an idea in the middle of doing something that would require Stiles yelling at Kira then sprinting over to his bag to pull out his notebook. Kira would always laugh at Stiles’s antics and ask him how he possibly manages to write a complete novel when he was constantly coming up with random ideas. Stiles had tried to explain it to her once only to sum it up as a whole lot of pinning and red and blue strings going everywhere.

Derek came in on a Wednesday in March with a little boy who had curly blonde hair and the most adorable brown eyes. Stiles had been sitting behind the front desk doodling aimlessly in his journal while he tried to figure out what would happen next to Dylan and Tyler when the little bell over the door rang. He looked up to see a pair of familiar green eyes looking back at him and a small smile on the man’s face, because Derek was undoubtly a man now.

“Long time.”

“Yeah.”

“And who’s this little guy with you?” Stiles stood up and moved around the counter while the kid hid his face in Derek’s pants.

“This is Isaac.”

“Well he is absolutely adorable. You here to get him a pet?”

“No. I mean yes we’re here to get him a pet but I’m not getting it for him. I’m friends with his parents and they want to get him a pet as a welcome gift but they got called into work at the last minute.”

“I guess it’s up to us to help him pick out the perfect companion so tell me. Are you a cat person or a dog person?”

Isaac looked up at Derek and when the man gave him a small nod he spoke to Stiles in a small voice. “Dog.”

“Excellent because I’m pretty sure I have the perfect dog for you.” Stiles motioned for the two to follow him into the back and turned to look at them after pulling the dog out of his kennel. “This is Enkidu. He’s a Cardigan Welsh Corgi. He’ll be very loyal to you if you show him plenty of love and attention.”

Isaac took the small puppy into his arms when Stiles held him out for Isaac to take. The little boy let out a breathy laugh when the puppy nipped playfully at his nose. His arms tightened around Enkidu after the dog started to wiggle and almost fell out of his arms. He looked from the puppy to Derek with wide, innocent eyes that made Stiles’s heart melt.

“Can I keep him?”

“We just have to do some paperwork then you can. Can he stay in here and play with him while we do the paperwork?”

“Sure. It shouldn’t take long.”

Derek nodded then rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I know this is kind of out of the blue since we barely know each other but I was wondering if you would go out to dinner with me.”

“Umm.” A blush spread across Stiles’s cheeks and he looked down at the paperwork so Derek wouldn’t be able to see it. “Yes. I’d like to go out with you.”

* * *

Three years and eight months later Stiles woke up on Christmas morning to find Derek missing from his side of their bed. With a groan Stiles rolled out of bed and made his way downstairs after taking a quick shower and throwing on a pair of reindeer pyjamas. Stiles was more than a little surprised to find out Derek wasn’t in the kitchen or the living room. After yelling Derek’s name several times, Stiles fell onto the couch with a huff and checked his phone only to find no messages or miss calls.

Stiles was just about to press the call button on Derek’s number when he heard the front door opening then closing. He could hear Derek’s boots clunking against the hardwood floor in their entryway and hallway before he saw Derek turn the corner. Derek’s eyes went wide at the same time he realized Stiles was waiting for him on their sofa.

“What are you doing up?”

“I woke up. Why do you think I’m up?”

“I thought you’d still be asleep.”

Stiles tipped his head to the side as he took in the nervous way Derek was shifting from one foot to the other. “I was asleep but then I woke up. That’s kind of what happens.”

“Normally you sleep in on Christmas.”

“I apologize? Should I go back to bed so you can finish sneaking around?”

“I’m not sneaking around.”

“Right. So you didn’t get up early to go get whatever that is from wherever you were hiding it?”

Derek glanced down at the wrapped box in his hand then brought his attention back to Stiles. “Merry Christmas?”

“You’re such a freak.” Stiles laugh and started to give Derek a kiss only to stop when a strange yelping sound came from the present. “What in the world?”

“You should probably open it now.”

Stiles cautiously took the box out of Derek’s hands and was so surprised at how heavy it was that he almost dropped it. He sent Derek a strange look then moved to the couch so he could put the present on the table while he unwrapped it. The bright green paper came away easily and Stiles was just about to pull off the top of the box when whatever was inside moved. A gasp came out of Stiles’s mouth when a cute black nose poked its way out of the box. Stiles quickly pulled the lid the rest of the way off of the box and let out a squeal when a pair of electric blue eyes stared up at him.

“You got me a puppy! How-”

“Someone brought him into Kira and I had mentioned I was thinking about getting you a dog so she gave me a call. She’s been keeping him at her place ever since.”

“He’s so cute.” Stiles brought the puppy up to his face for an Eskimo kiss. “What’s his name?”

“Kili.”

Stiles’s head whipped to the side. “You remember?”

“Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I remember that cute little kid that was way too smart for his own age and grew up to be the love of my life?”

“I love you too.”

“This would probably be a good time to open up your stocking.” Stiles’s eyes went wide and he passed the dog into Derek’s arms so he could sprint over to the fireplace. He quickly grabbed his stocking off the hook and sat back on the sofa next to Derek and Kili. He pulled out a pair of Avengers socks then some random knickknacks before pulling a little black box out of the very bottom of the stocking.

“Marry me?”

“Yes!” Stiles pulled Derek into a passionate kiss and let out a laugh when Kili tried to nose his way in between them. “Best Christmas ever.”

**Author's Note:**

> The type of dog Derek gives Stiles is a Goberian. It's the first one on this page: http://news.distractify.com/fun/animals-fun/cutest-dog-mix-breeds/


End file.
